Since being introduced by the government in August, the initiative has received both criticism and praise. While the supporters of the initiative applaud the government for showing the courage to solve Turkey's most important problem, its opponents, mainly the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), criticize the government for attempting to divide the country with this initiative, which they say includes no concrete proposals. They have also refused to meet with the government to shape the content of the initiative. It is very clear that the opponents of this initiative do not have any reasonable grounds to block the way to the solution of Turkey's most pressing problem. Discussing the opposition of some circles to the government's democratization initiative on the grounds that they have no idea what the aim and content of this initiative are, Star's Mustafa Erdoğan says he has doubts about the sincerity of these circles because he cannot understand what part of this initiative, which is aimed at extinguishing a big fire like the Kurdish problem, is not understandable. “If you are not indifferent to the fire that has spread everywhere because of the Kurdish problem, you will understand that the aim of this initiative is to put out this fire. If the great humanitarian cost of the Kurdish problem hurts your heart even a little, it will be very easy for you to see what the aim of this initiative is. Is it something difficult to understand or is it bad to say, ‘Let weapons be silenced,' ‘Let peace prevail,' ‘Let us not allow the killing of young people and children'? Is it bad to want the end of murders, family tragedies and material and intangible losses? Would it not be good if the money invested in weapons were invested in the education, health care and welfare of the people?” asks Erdoğan.
He admits that it will not be easy to put out this fire immediately but says the government has at least voiced its determination to do so. “Everyone knows that terrorism may not be ended completely, but this does not render it acceptable to continue doing nothing except killing and being killed. There is no virtue in turning a blind eye to this fire and defaming those who try to put out this fire and call on others to help,” contends Erdoğan.
According to Yeni Şafak's Yasin Doğan, it is a tradition of the opposition parties in Turkey to criticize every step of the government and to describe as “black” something the government calls “white.” In consideration of this, Doğan thinks the reason for the disturbance of the opposition parties in relation to the government's democratization initiative is this tradition of seeking a malicious motive behind the government's each and every move. “It can be clearly seen that opposition parties in Turkey lack a mentality that embraces the nation and the state, which understands the realities of today and brings solutions to today's problems,” says Doğan. In his view, the opposition parties' lack of vision in Turkey not only exhausts themselves, but also weakens politics and causes it to lose prestige.
Bugün's Erhan Başyurt dismisses claims that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) is against the democratization initiative, referring to Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ's recent statements in which he said: “We support the democratization initiative. The TSK's stance is very clear on this issue.” Başyurt says Başbuğ's statements reveal that the TSK has not joined the ranks of the MHP and the CHP in opposing the democratization initiative.
